NC electric utilities stick with U.S. Chamber despite industry defections

Several major power companies have cancelled their membership in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce over the business group's position on global warming, but North Carolina's electric utilities are not planning to sever their relationship with the organization.
Raleigh-based Progress Energy and Charlotte-based Duke Energy say they have long, productive relationships with the national chamber.
In recent weeks, power companies that have quit the chamber include Excelon, one of the country's biggest electric utilities, as well as Pacific Gas & Electric in California. They quit over the chamber's resistance to climate change legislation that would impose additional costs on some businesses.
Duke spokesman Tom Williams said it's no secret that the Charlotte utility disagrees with the U.S. Chamber's position on climate change, but that's not grounds to quit the group.
"It's not a single-issue group," Williams said. "We work with them on lots of different issues."
A month ago Duke left the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity because of some ACCCE members' strident opposition to climate change legislation, Williams said. Last year Duke left the National Association of Manufacturers over the same issue.